Leif

I did, after selling him to them for 80m.

Rakitic really has an anti-Barcelona mindset. It's almost sad seeing him decide to end their dangerous moves with a random pass back.

This really is quite a masterclass from Conte. Let teams attack us all season so that we're entirely adjusted for the likes of Barcelona.

Can't help but feel my belly fill with joy when Christensen's on the ball.

I wonder how many games Zidane, Ribery or even Kaka played as a false 9.

That's like sitting passenger-side of a Ferrari going through Detroit when you could've been in a Renault 5 going through the South of France.

Essentially the same circumstances as Cech.

There's surely no doubt that Giroud was confident he'd have to either side-step or step a level down after Arsenal. He probably expected a Dortmund/Roma/Lyon/Sevilla type move. To actually upgrade the club he's at is probably a massive compliment in his mind, probably enough to turn him into Drogba for a few games.

We're mirroring this transformation -

Tidy but not influential in a 0-0 draw today. Played the whole game, most of it on the right. Became a different beast once in the centre. Didn't play with Dembele/Roberts/other talented flair players today, but a mix of fringe players. He was actually awarded MOTM, but Celtic fans contest it, saying another player deserves it by far. Edit: To add more, Celtic fans generally agree that right now he's impact-player quality, not starter quality, not for us or Celtic. But, all the people who've been foaming at the mouth over Musonda for the past few years aren't wrong. He'll become starter quality rapidly like the best youngsters do. Currently he's flashy for flashiness sake, and needs to develop a more direct, fast-pass approach. He needs to be less of a circa 2010 Barcelona player, for us, Celtic, whoever he plays for. & finally, everyone acknowledges that, like Hazard, Musonda's instantly the most targeted player Celtic have, and by default, the league. Opposition double up on him, or triple, and tackle him hard. People are surprised he hasn't already gained an injury, & give him props for getting up quickly and steadily whenever he's taken down. ''He looks like he has the touches. But a team like us cant afford luxury players. There's got to be an end product or else there's no point in starting him.''

Yeah, the way our team and their team are set up at the moment, it'd be incredible for Hazard to simply have a really good game. If he's average or below, there better not be any comments about it: I've seen Messi fail against us, Ronaldo fail against nobodies, and Neymar + others fail every week in Ligue 1.

That's silly - without the curse of the gods, Barkley would be fit, and with him, our midfield turns utterly elite.

I can easily see Drinkwater being this season's Cahill - being, an English player out of their depth, who actually thrives when in the biggest game of their life. I could also see Emerson coming in and being one of the most solid players on the pitch, like Bertrand vs. Munich. If our policy was gung-ho.

Giroud makes us play more attractive football, at the cost of many missed chances from himself before any potential goal. Giroud really knows 'how to play as a traditional striker' & he positions himself where you expect a good striker to position themselves, meaning some consistent hassle for the opposition (or consistently predictable runs, depending on the quality of the defence.) But, he might be our tied slowest player. Against Barcelona. Morata brings 'luck'; a 'chance of anything happening' trait. Morata has less traditional positioning, and because of that, is more likely to interchange with Hazard, presumably meaning Hazard is down the centre more. He isn't as confident as Giroud at the moment though, and it might be that mentality is more important than intangible luck, or even skill & space. Which tactic (or, striker we go with) sounds more likely to beat them this time? - My head & heart say Morata, my gut says Giroud.

I think if he became 3x the player he currently is, he'd end up quite like Tottenham's Dembele. Not a terrible bench option for us. But he isn't made of magic. Currently there's only one player he actually resembles, and it's the most incredible coincidence considering that the other player has been on our books this whole time - Ruben damn Loftus Cheek. How did we end up with literally the 2 most lazy, languid midfielders to ever be over 6ft? They're so similar, yet such rare kind of players (I can't name 1 team who has a player with the sum of their traits, nevermind 2 of these players). It's haunting.

90 minutes vs Barcelona and I'd expect Emerson to create 2-3 goal scoring chances. Alonso, I'd expect at most 1 or 2. Defensively, who knows, considering Emerson's fitness and whatnot. But I'd play Emerson. Baptism of fire. Fully bleed him in instantly.

I think Telles would've been more impressive on the surface (more pace/stamina/action), but more of a liability (having nowhere near the game-reading intelligence Emerson has.) I think Alex Sandro would've been a peg below the level he's been for Juventus, it's just the nature of players who leave tight-knit clubs, and cost 4x that of Emerson; despite not being twice the player, nevermind 4x. One big thing I like about Emerson, which I liked about Ashley Cole, that I wanted more from Filipe Luis & many players since - is running into positions to produce, instead of taking part in a game of everyone being rooted where they stand, expecting miracle-passes to win the game.

Composure.

Emerson has been quiet - but quiet stability is good. Ampadu is special - I'll say it again and again. Mentality. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

It's an absolute mystery why Scott gets a look. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Knew it was saved before it was. Told the room 'Watch him save this - he's Superman. Now the game starts.' What a moment Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

I think Giroud goes hot and cold. If he's hot today, I doubt he will be hot for Barcelona. I'd prefer Morata's superior pace to tire out defenders, then bring Giroud on later to physically dominate Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

This is simply Willian's level - it's always the very small teams he's good against. But commentators will go on about him now being in hot form. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Caballero is really the most composed goalkeeper I've ever seen. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

But Salah expressed love for the chant